The police department in Washington uses a software that tries to predict where the crimes will occur and who are the perpetrators. This of course in order to avoid this from happening.
The police in Washington began using a more advanced version of a software already used in the U.S., program that compares various algorithms and background information of convicted persons, trying to predict when these people will relapse, what and where they will commit a crime, writes ABC News. The program is based solely on mathematical formulas and that is why it was criticized, the opponents saying that it violates the presumption of innocence if certain persons will be additionally supervised because they are considered risky by the program.
Richard Berk, a professor at Philadelphia University has developed a software that tries to predict what are the chances for some people on parole to commit crimes. The police in cities like Baltimore and Philadelphia are using this software, but an advanced version will be used in Washington to make forecasts of when and what kind of serious crimes they might commit; the program refers to those on parole or on bail.
The program takes into account a database with thousands of crimes and various algorithms; it uses a series of variables such as geographic location, statistics related to crimes and the age of perpetrators to come up with predictions about who might commit a serious crime when and where. It’s not any direct evidence that a crime might be committed, all is up to the probability theory and up to the databases used.
“People usually assume that if someone killed a man, he will murder again. But what really counts is what made the person when he was young, if he committed an armed robbery at 14 years is a good forecast, but if committed an offense at the age of 30, this cannot serve as a good prediction”, said Professor Berk, the creator of Pro Crime software. Berk says the software is useful because it gives the police an idea of how intense the supervision of an individual must be.
Critics say that such programs encourage categorizing the individuals on a risk scale based on mathematical formulas rather than everyday reality. They also object that the intense monitoring of individuals is based on indications of a computer is opposite to what the justice system says, because this system is based on the presumption of innocence.
